Bare headed bust left with sceptre/Voided short cross with letters CRVX within angles

Colchester / Wulfine

S1148; 20mm, 1.27g

A sharply struck example in good silver.

Æthelred II ‘The Unready’ – 978-1013/1014-1016: The eldest son of Eadgar, Æthelred became king at the mere age of 12 following the brutal murder of his half-brother Edward. Young and easy to manipulate, he came to depend on his councillors for their prudent advice – an aspect in which they badly let him down. Though his reign is noted for its economic reforms and a high standard for the English coinage, it was marred by Scandinavian raids, periods of acute social instability and famine. Initially adopting a policy of paying the invaders to go away, Æthelred abruptly U-turned in 1002 and massacred many ethnic Danes resident in England. This policy backfired spectacularly, actually causing more Scandinavians to take up arms against him. Displaced from the throne in 1013 by Swein Forkbeard, he briefly returned to rule for a second time in 1014 after the latter’s untimely death – only to die himself shortly afterwards.

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Bust left wearing pointed helmet, sceptre/Voided cross within circle

Cambridge / Grim

S1158; 19mm, 0.93g

Cnut ‘The Great’ – 1016-1035: A prominent Scandinavian prince and junior member of the Danish royal house, Cnut spent much of the early 11th century as an active participant on raids directed at England. In 1013, his father Swein Forkbeard invaded England and became its king by dint of conquest – though died shortly afterwards. Cnut was forced to retreat back to Denmark, but returned to England in 1015. Defeating the English at Assandun in 1016 and forcing a settlement, Cnut eventually succeeded to the throne of all England. An outwardly pious man, he gave generously to religious houses during his reign and went on pilgrimage to Rome – despite being a murderous bigamist. During his near twenty-year long rule, he came to unite England, Denmark, Norway and part of Sweden into the powerful but short-lived ‘North Sea Empire’.

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Patriarchal cross/ CVNNETTI around small cross

ex Cuerdale Hoard

S993; 20mm, 1.27g

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An exceptional penny, sharp detail and good metal,  from the Cuerdale hoard.

Cnut of Northumbria (c. 900-905) – far more obscure than his 11^th century namesake who reputedly tried to hold back the waves at Bosham to prove to his followers that he did not possess  divine power; this Northumbrian Cnut remains something of an enigma. Aside from a few scant mentions of his name in Medieval Norse sagas compiled four centuries after his death, there are no other literary records mentioning him. Approximately 3,000 pennies struck in his name were found in the 1840 Cuerdale hoard, alongside issues of one ‘Sieferth’ and indeed some other coins displaying both the names ‘Cnut’ and ‘Sieferth’. Sieferth is just as obscure, though some scholars conflate him with Cnut – arguing that they are the same person. Cnut’s coins are redolent with Christian imagery, one iconic type demonstrating his name laid out in the manner of crossing oneself, accompanied by the inscription ‘MIRABILIA FECIT’ (He has done wonderful things) – taken from Psalm 98.

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Portrait type.

Diademed bust right ‘EOBA’ (Moneyers name) before / ‘+CYNETHRYTH REGINA’ around ‘M’ (Mercia).

S909, 16mm, 1.11g

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A full coin with reasonable portrait and legends, usual base silver for Mercian coin of this period.

This coin comes with a previous hand written label and rough find area provenance.

Cynethryth, the wife of King Offa of Mercia, was the first and only Anglo-Saxon queen to have her name and image placed on coins. While it has been suggested that these coins were inspired by the appearance of the empress Irene on Byzantine issues, the profile portrait harks back to coinage of Roman augustae. Many details of Cynethryth’s life, such as the date of her marriage, are unknown. She appears to have been active in political affairs until Offa’s death. After her husband’s passing, she became abbess of the monastery of Cookham, where she remained until her death sometime after 798. Cynethryth appears in the hagiography of St. Aethelbert, where she is portrayed as a jealous villain who incites Offa to kill the saint.

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Saroaldo Type 11

Bust right stylized/Pseudo legend SAROALDO around standard

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S784; 11mm, 1.03g

This coin comes with a rough find area provenance.

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Series X

Wodan head / Monster

Ribe mint.

S797; 12mm, 1.02g

This coin comes with a rough find area provenance and is recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

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Series Q, Type 95

Facing bust of Christ? / Quadruped (wolf?) facing left with head turned back, crest woven between legs.

S808C; 12mm, 0.90g

A most attractive and seldom offered type.

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This coin comes with a rough find area provenance and previous collectors handwritten label.

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Light coinage, non portrait. Moneyer Beaweth? or similar

Celtic Cross Type, Small flan

S904, 16mm, 0.97g

This coin comes with a rough find area provenance.

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Offa (757-796): The first King of Mercia to strike coins, Offa is perhaps one of the most famous Anglo-Saxon kings – and certainly the longest-ruling (c. 39 years). Although he probably was not the original builder of ‘Offa’s Dyke’ and his attempts to ingratiate himself with the Frankish King Charlemagne ultimately failed – by the time of his death he had built Mercia into Anglo-Saxon England’s powerhouse kingdom. J J North’s ‘English Hammered Coinage vol. I’ encompasses Offa’s coinage within c. 80 different types, which perhaps illustrates best the complexity of his various issues struck during his reign.

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Danish East Anglia AD 885-954 Silver Penny

St Edmund Memorial

Alpha / Cross

NGC Slab MS62

S960; 18mm, 41.54g (Slab weight)

A high grade example.

Saint Edmund’s pennies

Perhaps the most numerous of the Anglo-Viking issues struck in the Danelaw are the so-called ‘St Edmund Memorial’ pennies, copying issues of Edmund – the King of East Anglia who was martyred in 869. These coins were struck in several phases from c. 895-910 by a dizzying array of moneyers, who demonstrate not only indigenous Anglo-Saxon names but also Scandinavian and even continental ones. These attest to a thriving, internationally-reaching polity that was probably somewhat diverse.

It might seem bizarre to think that the sons and grandsons of those who had originally killed Edmund had now moved to striking coins celebrating him as ‘SC EADMUND’ (Saint Edmund) within their own territory. However, perhaps there is a relevant point here to be made concerning the extent to which Christian beliefs had been adopted and the hold which Edmund’s cult held over the local populace. Perhaps the newly-converted Danes, feeling guilty for their ancestors’ martyrdom of Edmund, were trying to make spiritual amends by venerating him on their coins?

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Hiberno Norse AD 1035-1060 Silver Penny Long Cross. Phase 3

Imitating Aethelred II’s Long Cross coinage, blundered legends.

Hands in 2 angles, trefoil of pellets.

S6132; 18mm, 0.93g

Comes with previous collectors handwritten label, ex Hibernia collection.

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